Anoushka Shankar’s sitar damaged during transit, musician slams Air India

Musician and composer Anoushka Shankar has criticised Air India after her sitar was severely damaged during transit. The British-American sitarist, known globally for her work across classical and contemporary genres, shared her frustration on Instagram on Wednesday.

Shankar, daughter of legendary musician Pandit Ravi Shankar, said she was “devastated and truly disturbed” by the condition of her instrument, alleging that the extent of the damage indicated “wilful disregard”.

“How on earth does damage like this happen without willful disregard?” she wrote, adding that the incident was particularly disheartening as she had chosen to fly with the airline again after several years.

The musician noted that despite taking “thousands of flights” with other carriers, she had never experienced such damage to her sitar. “It seems an Indian instrument can’t be safe with them,” she remarked while sharing images of the broken instrument on her social media account Instagram.

Anoushka has also been nominated in two prestigious categories at the Grammy Awards 2026: Best Global Music Album for ‘Chapter III: We Return to Light’ and Best Global Music Performance for ‘Daybreak’.

She regularly travels with her sitar for performances. Air India has not yet issued a public statement responding to the incident.